The good news for Arkansans is that there are down payment and homebuying assistance programs for prospective homeowners of all income levels. From forgivable loans to low-interest second mortgages to tax credits, programs throughout the state make the dream of homeownership achievable.

Buying a new home can be the experience of a lifetime, and nothing compares to the thrill of finding your perfect house. These insider tips will help you find the perfect house without succumbing to common home-buying pitfalls.

Bridget Holcomb, executive director of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network, says that female farmers tend to take a community-oriented approach that also makes it harder for them to secure funding. “We know that, since women are looking at farms that are outside of the box, they’re less likely than their male counterparts to get support,” she says.

Debt management and debt settlement programs can help you work with creditors to pay off your debts or pay a lump sum that is less than what you owe but still closes the account. Neither option involves a credit check, although both will impact your credit score long term. The two key differences are whether you’re repaying the debt in full and whether the creditor is involved when establishing a repayment plan.

Of all the nightmare scenarios a homeowner can face, having an underwater mortgage is one of the biggest ones. When you’ve purchased an asset you expected to earn you equity and boost your net worth, watching the value drop is both concerning and disheartening.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to improve your circumstances even when your home loan is underwater.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) made a number of changes to the types of hedging allowed under the new guidelines. The amendment greenlights the use of the Security Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Municipal Swap Rate and contractually specified rates in hedges against interest rate changes.

Buying a house is an investment, one that can open opportunities in numerous areas of your life. Not only does it become a home for you and your family, you can also borrow money against the property, creating financial flexibility for a wide range of goals.You can access that flexibility is through a home equity loan (HEL) or home equity line of credit (HELOC).

A buydown isn’t just for home builders or developers, but it’s so common it’s often known as a builder buydown mortgage and can certainly take a chunk out of the expenses that come with buying and outfitting a brand-new house.

The costs of home staging range widely depending on whether you do it yourself or hire an expert. You might spend a few hundred dollars on paint, decorative plants, and replacing a few fixtures on your own, or a few thousand on a staging service. The experts we talked to provide practical tips to help seal the deal on selling your home, no matter your budget.

Although higher rates signal a tighter market for both homebuyers and sellers, it’s important to understand the context in which they’re happening and how you can maximize your opportunities even if rates continue to rise.

That China is a leader in cutting-edge technologies is beyond dispute. China is miles ahead of other countries on mobile payments, where cashless transactions are already commonplace in the country’s major cities. Facial recognition technology represents just one aspect of how Chinese innovations are changing the game, and its use cases could indicate what business trends will emerge in the U.S. and elsewhere over time.

According to research from blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis, about 3.79 million Bitcoin have been lost, including the million owned by the currency’s elusive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Those missing coins are currently worth about US$24.6 billion, or more than the GDP of Iceland.

At the TRANSACT 2018 conference, hosted by the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), conversations focused
on a payments ecosystem that is integrated, holistic and more secure. Here are the three key takeaways from this
year’s event